House Next Door
by turquoisesocks
Summary: When James Potter moves in next door, Lily Evans isn't sure whether she wants to hit him or kiss him.


It was a dull day in March when Lily Evans came down with a fever. She lay on her bed, reading Anna Karenin and staring morosely past her purple curtains and into the neighbour's garden.

'Oh, you poor dear,' Mrs. Evans said, placing a hand on her forehead. 'I'll let the school know you're sick. Do you want soup or anything like that? I'll tell you what—how about a nice cup of green tea before I go to work.'

Lily attended St. Anne's—a prestigious girl school down the road. It was fine, if a little boring. She certainly wouldn't mind missing a day or two.

'Thanks Mum.' Lily returned to her book. It was grey and cold outside. Two magpies cawed on her window sill.

Around eleven o'clock, Lily yawned and slouched to the bathroom to get some Aspirin and brush her teeth. When she returned to her room, a big, green truck was parked outside her window. It had the words 'Harvey Removal Company' written in big lettering along the side.

'Petunia!' she called.

Petunia was her older sister. Blonde, skinny and horse-faced, Petunia had no greater goal in life than to be married—and currently no topic interested her other than engagement rings. She was convinced that her long-time boyfriend, Vernon Dursley, was on the brink of proposing, and so had already booked a wedding venue. Lily rolled her eyes whenever she thought of it.

'Petunia!' she yelled again.

'I thought you were meant to be sick!' A nasally voice replied. 'Wait till Mum hears you're out of bed.'

Lily sighed. 'Are we getting new neighbours?' As much as she hated asking Petunia anything, there was no-one who knew the ins-and-outs of the neighbourhood better than her sister.

There was silence from Petunia's room. 'New neighbours?'

'Yeah—there's a removal van parked outside.'

A clatter was heard, and then Petunia appeared on the landing. 'I've haven't heard anything about it. Here, let me see.' And she joined Lily at the window, taking care to shove the redhead out of the way. They both peered out.

A woman was stepping around the side of the truck. She looked about fifty, with greying hair and a black pencil skirt. A man—her husband, probably—appeared and put an arm around her shoulders.

Petunia gazed curiously at the cardboard boxes stacked up on the lawn.

'Should we go introduce ourselves?' Lily asked, tugging on her jumper.

'You'd better stay here—we don't want to scare them off,' Petunia replied nastily, eyeing her sister's unruly red hair and dark green eyes. But then something outside caught her attention, and she peered down, open-mouthed. Lily followed her gaze.

Standing on the pavement were two boys, about her age, who seemed to be laughing hysterically about something. Then, all of a sudden, one of them looked up and caught sight of the them. He nudged his companion and they both stared up at the window. An intense staring match followed, which was only broken when the woman said something, looking stern. Then she and the boys entered the house.

''We are definitely going to introduce ourselves,'' Lily said firmly. ''Come on.''

She marched downstairs while Petunia said, ''I thought you had a _fever_.''

''Don't you think it's a little strange if we just stare at them and don't say hi?'' Lily asked, pulling on a denim jacket. ''Plus, it's the friendly thing to do.''

Looking disgruntled, Petunia pulled on a pair of high heels. ''You only want to get to know them because they're hot. You always look down on people for being shallow, when you yourself are such a _slut_.''

She looked triumphantly at Lily, who gave her a dirty look, but said nothing. This both unnerved and pacified Petunia, who was used to a far more violent reaction.

When both girls had their coats and shoes on, Lily opened the front door and stepped into the fresh air. They passed the removal van as they made their way up the path.

Lily pressed her finger to the doorbell, and then stepped back. Petunia was fidgeting nervously. The sound of voices could be heard in the back garden.

''What the hell, Padfoot! Don't _touch_ it.''

''Relax, Prongs, it's only a dead rat.''

Petunia let out a small gasp. Lily wondered if she should knock.

''You know what?'' It was the second voice again. ''I reckon a house-warming party is in order.'' There was the sound of footsteps and leaves being strewn across the garden.

''My parents just bought the house; they don't want it wrecked within a few days. Besides, it's the middle of the week. No one would be interested.''

''So? We'll have it on Saturday.'' The second voice sounded impatient. ''McKinnon and all would be up for it.''

''Yeah, whatever.'' Suddenly the sound of the side gate creaking open was heard, and the two boys appeared around the corner. They stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of Lily and Petunia.

''Er, hello,'' Lily said, trying hard not to stare. ''Sorry to scare you, we're from next door.''

The one with the messy hair and glasses recovered first. ''Nah, you didn't scare us. You're the ones from the window, right? I'm James.''

''Lily,'' said Lily, and when Petunia remained silent, she added, ''This is my sister Petunia.'' A rather awkward silence followed. The boy who hadn't introduced himself yet cleared his throat. When Lily glanced up at him she was surprised to see he was shaking with silent laughter.

''So...'' Lily ventured, ''How do you like the house?''

''It's fine,'' James shrugged. ''Very, ah... nice.''

''Exquisite,'' the second man put in. ''Charming. Simply delightful—''

''Shut up Sirius,'' James said wearily, and the second man fell back to sniggering quietly. Petunia stared at him.

''Well,'' Lily tried again, ''We just wanted to say hi. If you ever need anything, we're just next door.''

James nodded. ''Right. See you around.''

''See you,'' Lily said, and began walking back down the driveway, attempting to shake off the awkwardness.

''Wait!'' a voice called. Lily turned to see Sirius grinning at her. ''House-warming party this Saturday. We'd love to have you.'' He winked.

Lily felt herself smile. ''Sure.'' She could hear Petunia clucking her tongue.

Once they were back in the safety of their own sitting room, Lily speculated, ''Mum and Dad will probably invite them to dinner next week. That'll be good.''

Petunia, who was staring determinedly at her computer screen, said nothing.

''I thought they were very nice,'' Lily continued, tucking her feet under her. She watched her sister. ''They invited us to their party, which was kind of them.''

''You said about two words to each other,'' Petunia spat. ''You aren't magically best pals with them.''

Lily frowned. ''What's wrong with you? You didn't even say hi to them.''

Petunia snapped her lap top shut. ''I thought you were meant to be _sick_ , Lily. Be quiet and leave me _alone_.''

And she stormed upstairs, leaving a confused Lily behind.


End file.
